celebrating maggie | milton dog photographer

When I met Maggie back in April, she was 18 years young. Eighteen! That’s almost two decades of walks, licks, companionship on the couch and playing fetch. Eighteen years of car rides. Eighteen years of unconditional love. Maggie started life in a shelter until Cathy found her and adopted her at the age of one. She got into mischief and came with some emotional baggage, but Cathy was undeterred. Maggie was there through the good times and bad — moving houses, divorce and additions to the family, including Sara, her protective eight-year-old rescue golden retriever sister.

When I met Maggie, she was in declining health. She was blind in one eye and starting to lose sight in the other. She had a very large cancerous growth on her hindquarter. She had been living with cancer for many years, and only recently did it start to slow her down. In fact, Cathy adopted Sara when Maggie was 9, thinking she didn’t have much time left with her beloved husky. Maggie surprised everyone. She was frail, and slow on her feet during our session, but her resiliency just shines in her images.

Younger canine sister Sara was very protective of Maggie  — always nearby keeping an eye out for her. She was always in the background, making sure Maggie was safe and not in distress.
Maggie passed away about a week after our photo session. Cathy, Sara and the their cats are still adjusting to her absence – quite a large hole to fill after such a long relationship. I’m glad I got to meet Maggie for a Celebration Session and capture her vibrancy – she was a beautiful ray of light and will be missed.